| Chapter 5 Assuring
quality and effectiveness |
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| Best Value "Best Value aims to change attitudes
in local government. Progress in community care will
depend on it."
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| 5.1 This
chapter identifies the steps we must take at a national
level to improve the infrastructure for community care. |
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| Best Value |
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| 5.2 The
Government's 'Best Value' policy aims to change public
services from a 'service provider' focus to a 'customer'
focus, by delivering services people want, to a quality
they want and at a cost they can afford. Best Value aims
to change attitudes in local government. We believe that
it will help local authorities to be more efficient and
to better meet the needs of their communities. The
emphasis in this action plan is on better results and is
consistent with Best Value. |
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5.3 When examining Best Value options for
community care, authorities should consider buying
services from independent-sector providers and also the
benefits of sharing tasks with other authorities. This is
particularly relevant for:
- smaller authorities;
- specialist tasks (for
example, inspection); and
- specialist services
where the number of people using them is small.
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| Sharing
good practice |
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| 5.4 Passing
on success is an important part of Best Value. Throughout
Scotland there are many positive examples of individual
agencies breaking new ground in community care. We must
move away from a sense of competitiveness between
agencies to one where co-operation is the norm and
knowledge about what succeeds (and what does not) is
shared. |
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| 5.5 There
are plenty of opportunities for this to happen through
existing networks such as ADSW's Standing Groups, COSLA's
Housing Practitioners' Forum and the NHS Purchasing
Network. And this is particularly true for developmental
thinking which may not yet have been put into practice.
Agencies should put their examples of good practice on
the Good Practice Database at the Nuffield Centre in
Glasgow. |
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| 5.6 Although
Best Value is targeted at local authorities, its
principles extend to other agencies, including health
boards. Developing sound strategic frameworks, other
frameworks and financial infrastructures, focusing on the
community care £, and effective working arrangements are
even more important across the agency boundaries in
community care. So Best Value in community care must be
an aim which is shared between agencies. |
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5.7 Best Value will greatly influence the
progress of community care. Nationally, we will
encourage, guide and monitor authorities' performance. We
will also review our own needs (for example, for
community care planning) as authorities develop better
ways of working. But it will be up to each agency to:
- drive forward its own
agenda;
- examine its strategic
and operational activities and the services and
accommodation it buys and delivers; and
- make sure that it
meets the community care needs of its area
efficiently and effectively.
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| For some
authorities this will mean radical change. |
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| Developing service
standards |
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| 5.8 We must
continue to develop service standards if we are to
produce better results for the people who use our
services. We will publish a White Paper on regulating the
social care workforce, with the aim of improving the way
vulnerable people are protected and of developing higher
standards of service. We are also committed to
modernising the education and training of the workforce. |
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| Developing
joint training |
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| 5.9 Joint
working and joint systems need to be supported by joint
training. This can look more widely at processes,
services and accommodation, giving staff an understanding
of and confidence in their partners. People using
services should contribute, giving an overall view of the
services provided. There are many joint tasks in
community care and many opportunities for joint training.
We want agencies to identify areas where joint training
would be of benefit and to develop a strategy for
following this through, not just at the professional
level, but also at management level across social work,
health and housing. |
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| 5.10 We
believe statutory organisations will find it useful to
have a framework to help them set standards, so we are
planning several stages. We have recently provided
guidance on registering social care establishments,
including some supported housing. |
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| 5.11
Scottish Homes is preparing new housing design guidance
for housing people with different needs, including
community care. Part I, on self-contained houses, has
been published and includes 'Barrier-free' standards for
mainstream housing. Part II, on shared housing, is
currently being prepared. In the NHS, there is a
commitment to develop performance indicators across the
range of health services to allow a proper assessment of
their quality and standards. |
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| 5.12 The
White Paper on regulating the social care workforce will
also set out plans for joint independent regulation of
residential care homes and nursing homes, and for
regulating home care. |
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| 5.13 We will
also set up later this year a National Consultative
Committee to look at key social work service standards.
It will look into developing benchmark standards, at
first for residential and nursing homes and then for home
care. |
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| 5.14 These
measures will set standards and improve the regulatory
framework for community care to give those in need better
quality services and greater confidence in those who
provide them. |
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| Developing
information systems for local and national needs |
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5.15 We want people to understand much more
clearly:
- what is available to
them under community care;
- what choices and
options they have; and
- what costs might be
involved.
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| Developing
better information on services |
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5.16 People who use services and, more
importantly, potential users must be better informed
about community care if they are to have confidence in
the services they receive and those who arrange and
provide them. Local statutory organisations must
develop better information for users about:
- the types of
services available and which agencies provide
them;
- how to qualify for
these services;
- the cost of
services and any charges which may apply; and
- the choices
available, including how housing and support
services can be combined to meet users' needs.
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5.17 Nationally, we will provide a lead on
improving information for management and other purposes
by:
- working jointly with
COSLA and the Accounts Commission to review what
information to collect and how to collect it; and
- publishing
information on best practice (for example, the
client information system in Falkirk).
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| 5.18 We
believe that agencies will welcome the opportunity for
national and local interests to work together to
standardise approaches to collecting and communicating
information. Agencies themselves, however, must develop
new information for the public and make sure that it
reaches its intended audience. |
